Instructions

ZOOM IN by clicking on the page. A slider will appear, allowing you to adjust your zoom level. Return to the original size by clicking on the page again.

MOVE the page around when zoomed in by dragging it.

ADJUST the zoom using the slider on the top right.

ZOOM OUT by clicking on the zoomed-in page.

SEARCH by entering text in the search field and click on "In This Issue" or "All Issues" to search the current issue or the archive of back issues
respectively.
.

PRINT by clicking on thumbnails to select pages, and then press the
print button.

SHARE this publication and page.

ROTATE PAGE allows you to turn pages 90 degrees clockwise or counterclockwise.Click on the page to return to the original orientation. To zoom in on a rotated page, return the page to its original orientation, zoom in, and
then rotate it again.

CONTENTS displays a table of sections with thumbnails and descriptions.

ALL PAGES displays thumbnails of every page in the issue. Click on
a page to jump.

16
SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL 2011
SFF.ORG.AU
FOXTEL AUSTRALIAN DOCUMENTARY PRIZE
17
SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL 2011
FOXTEL AUSTRALIAN DOCUMENTARY PRIZE
SFF.ORG.AU
FOXTEL
AUSTRALIAN
DOCUMENTARY PRIZE
The 10 films competing for the 2011 FOXTEL Australian
Documentary Prize cover subjects as diverse as climate change and
roller skating, and feature inspiring individuals from home and
abroad. With screenings taking place over ten days of the festival,
audiences will have a unique opportunity to view the best Australian
documentaries of 2011 on the big screen, with guest introductions
and Q&A sessions following each film.
‘Documentary is not just
a haphazard record. It is
dramatic. It dramatises
life without distorting it. It
shows us the struggles, the
hopes and fears, successes
and disappointments which
lie not far below the surface
of our everyday lives.’
PROFESSOR A K STOUT, FOUNDING CHAIR OF SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL
Juliet Lamont, director of the 2010 FOXTEL-winning film, The Snowman
Australian Documentary Prize partner
MITZI GOLDMAN has written, produced, edited and
directed documentaries for over 20 years. Her films
include Hatred (SFF 1996), End of the Rainbow
(SFF 2008) and Memoirs of a Plague.
THU 9 JUN 6.30PM EV9
Australia | 77 mins | In English, Afrikaans and Xhosa with
English subtitles
WORLD PREMIERE
Director, Producer, Screenwriter: Mitzi Goldman |
Production Company: Looking Glass Pictures
Andrea Durbach, a Sydney resident since 1989 and
currently director of the Australian Human Rights
Centre, returns to South Africa to meet her clients
from the landmark Upington trial. In 1985, when
Apartheid was at its most violent, a black policeman
was burnt to death and 25 people were convicted
of his murder; 14 were sentenced to hang. The
dramatic battle for justice – as told by Durbach,
Independent journalist John Carlin and the accused
– and subsequent Truth and Reconciliation hearings
are both revelatory and inspirational. JN•
Screens with The Palace
Introduction and Q&A with guest filmmakers
A COMMON PURPOSE
AMY GEBHARDT studied at AFTRS, and has
written and directed award-winning short narratives
and documentaries. She was selected to direct the
user-generated short film WE WERE HERE – The
Map My Summer Film, also screening at SFF 2011
(see page 21).
MON 13 JUN 6.00PM EV9
Australia | 28 mins | In English
WORLD PREMIERE
Director, Producer: Amy Gebhardt | Production Company:
Exit Films
With just weeks to go before opening night, Moira
Finucane and Jackie Smith – business partners
as well as life partners – are juggling creative and
logistical decisions, as well as caring for their two
year-old twins. Forty artists from across the country
are involved in their ambitious new show, Finucane
and Smith’s Carnival of Mysteries – including a
suicidal clown, a human butterfly and a gothic
librarian. The teetering balance of life, work and
creativity are laid bare in Amy Gebhardt’s intense
portrait. JN•
Screens with The Missing Key
Introduction and Q&A with guest filmmakers
CARNIVAL QUEEN
HUGH PIPER is a writer and director based in
Sydney. His credits include: Mr Sin: The Abe
Saffron Story, Cracking the Colour Code, The Post
and Outback Story.
THU 16 JUN 6.15PM EV9
Australia | 90 mins | In English and Burmese with English
subtitles
WORLD PREMIERE
Director: Hugh Piper | Producer: Helen Barrow | Production
Company: Evershine
“Australian publisher arrested in Burma.” When
Ross Dunkley, the Australian editor and co-owner
of Burma’s leading newspaper, the Myanmar Times,
agreed to let a film crew into his offices, he couldn’t
have imagined the headlines that would follow. His
intention was to offer a vehicle to see inside this
notoriously repressive country; however, following
Burma’s first elections in 20 years, Dunkley’s
disaffection with his government-backed partner
comes to a head and the story’s focus switches
dramatically to his arrest and imprisonment. JN•
Screens with Cropped
Introduction and Q&A with guest filmmakers
DANCING WITH DICTATORS
JANINE HOSKING produced and directed the
documentary features My Khmer Heart, Ganja
Queen and Mademoiselle and the Doctor (SFF
2004). She won the Walkley Award for journalism
in 1998.
TUE 14 JUN 8.30PM EV9
Australia | 90 mins | In English
WORLD PREMIERE
Director, Producer: Janine Hosking | Narrator: Tex Perkins |
Production Company: IKandy Productions
Chad Morgan has lost count of the number of times
he’s been reported dead (hence the title), but the
politically-incorrect country singer with the donkey
grin is very much alive. ‘The Sheik of Scrubby
Creek’ is still on the road almost 60 years after kick-
ing off his career on Australia’s Amateur Hour. Chad’s
life is the stuff of legends – his rapid rise to the top,
womanising, heavy drinking – and his story, nar-
rated by Tex Perkins, is told with just the right mix
of rollicking style and genuine respect. JN•
Screens with Nullarbor
Introduction and Q&A with guest filmmakers
I’M NOT DEAD YET
SOPHIE HYDE & BRYAN MASON
Bryan Mason is an award-winning editor and
cinematographer who has worked on both narra-
tives and documentaries. Life in Movement is his
directorial debut. Director/producer Sophie Hyde’s
work includes documentaries, narrative shorts,
experimental and dance films.
SAT 18 JUN 6.15PM EV9
Australia | 80 mins | In English
Directors, Screenwriters, Producers: Bryan Mason, Sophie
Hyde | Production Company: Closer Productions
In 2007, Tanja Liedtke was appointed to succeed
Graeme Murphy as Artistic Director of the Sydney
Dance Company. Before she could take up the
position, the dedicated 29-year-old dancer/choreog-
rapher was tragically killed in a road accident.
Eighteen months later, Tanja’s still-grieving
collaborators (including her partner Sol Ulbrich)
embark on an international tour of her award-
winning productions. The performances and on-tour
interviews, along with intimate footage of Tanja’s
creative process and previously unseen recordings,
provide a moving celebration of her creative life. JN•
Screens with Comfortable
Introduction and Q&A with guest filmmakers
LIFE IN MOVEMENT
PETER HEGEDUS has been producing and direct-
ing films since 1997. His work includes Grandfa-
thers and Revolutions and Inheritance: A Fisherman’s
Story. He is the director of Soul Vision Films.
FRI 10 JUN 6.30PM EV9
Australia | 90 mins | In English, Hungarian, Chinese,
Farsi and Russian with English subtitles
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
Director: Peter Hegedus | Screenwriters: Peter Hegedus, Mark
O'Toole, Jane Jeffes, Trish Lake | Producers: Peter Hegedus,
Jane Jeffes, Trish Lake | Distributor: Rialto Distribution
Growing up in socialist Hungary in the 1980s, film-
maker Peter Hegedus was obsessed with Hollywood
movies – the kind where the USA always stood for
truth and justice. The Berlin Wall fell and his family
moved to Brisbane, but his fixation didn’t waiver
until the USA invaded Iraq. Barack Obama’s stirring
post-election speech inspired Hegedus to rediscover his
American Dream, and his search – conducted in a style
that resembles a non-belligerent version of Michael
Moore – takes him from his grandfather’s garden to
the streets of Iran, from Schwarzenegger’s birthplace to
the Governator’s office, and points in between. JN•
Screens with Fragments
Introduction and Q&A with guest filmmakers
MY AMERICA
JAYSON SUTCLIFFE & POLLY WATKINS
Jayson Sutcliffe worked with Circe Films producer
Beth Frey and co-director Polly Watkins (award-
winning director of Sparrow and Vietnam Nurses)
for over five years to make this, his directorial debut.
WED 15 JUN 6.30PM EV9
Australia | 80 mins | In English and Italian with English
subtitles
WORLD PREMIERE
Directors, Screenwriters: Jayson Sutcliffe, Polly Watkins |
Producer: Beth Frey | Production Company: Circe Films
In late-70s Melbourne, roller skating was the
thing to do and young Jayson Sutcliffe blitzed the
competition. At 15 he was Junior World Champion,
but as an adult competing against his hero, Scott
Cohen, he faltered. Jayson, however, was no quitter;
he continued practising till his feet bled. His lycra
outfits became increasingly flamboyant and his
performances more winning and innovative. But
meanwhile, off the rink he was struggling. Jayson’s
rollercoaster career with its spectacular highs and
lows is illustrated with extensive footage and reveal-
ing interviews from the Rollerboy himself (who is
also co-director). JN•
Screens with Peekaboo
Introduction and Q&A with guest filmmakers
ROLLERBOY
CATHERINE SCOTT has directed and produced
documentaries for over 20 years. Her films include
the Walkley Award-winner Business Behind Bars
and Selling Sickness.
SAT 11 JUN 6.45PM EV9
Australia | 70 mins | In English
WORLD PREMIERE
Director: Catherine Scott | Producer: Pat Fiske | Production
Company: Paradigm Pictures
As a vocal advocate for everyone’s right to sexual
expression, Sydney sex worker Rachel Wotton is
passionate about providing people with disabilities
the opportunity to experience sexual intimacy. She
helped set up an advocacy group, runs workshops
for carers and sex workers, and is studying for a
masters degree in her spare time. The indefatigable
blonde also provides a specialised service to her
clients, two of whom, John and Mark, permit the
cameras in to record their most intimate moments.
Their pride and pleasure makes this one of the most
uplifting films you’ll see all year. JN•
Screens with Tethered
Introduction and Q&A with guest filmmakers
SCARLET ROAD
MATTHEW BATE creates documentaries dealing
with obsessive people, pop culture and outsider
artists. Shut up Little Man!, his first feature, pre-
miered at the Sundance Film Festival.
FRI 17 JUN 6.30PM EV9
Australia | 85 mins | In English
Director, Screenwriter: Matthew Bate | Producers: Sophie
Hyde, Matthew Bate | Distributor: Madman Entertainment
A cult phenomenon was born in 1987 when two
young punks from the American midwest moved
into a down-at-heel San Francisco apartment and
covertly recorded the vitriolic rants of their neigh-
bours: middle-aged alcoholic roommates Raymond,
a raging homophobe, and Peter, a flamboyant gay
man. The duo’s hysterical diatribes became a media
sensation and went on to inspire musicians (from
Devo to Nirvana), illustrators and filmmakers. At
once hilarious and disturbing, Matthew Bate’s Sun-
dance-selected documentary explores the boundaries
between privacy, art and exploitation. JN•
Screens with At The Formal
Introduction and Q&A with guest filmmakers
SHUT UP LITTLE MAN!
AN AUDIO MISADVENTURE
TOM ZUBRYCKI is an award-winning
documentarian whose recent films include Temple of
Dreams (SFF 2007); Molly & Mobarak (SFF 2003)
and The Diplomat (SFF 2000). He also works as a
producer mentoring emerging filmmakers.
SUN 12 JUN 6.00PM EV9
Australia | 94 mins | In English and Kiribati with English
subtitles
WORLD PREMIERE
Director, Producer: Tom Zubrycki | Production company:
JOTZ Productions
Only metres above sea level, the Pacific nation
of Kiribati is on the front line of climate change.
Maria Tiimon, a Kiribati woman living in Sydney,
is passionate about her homeland and, despite her
shyness, is determined to raise the world’s awareness
of its predicament. Back home, sea walls are
crumbling, storm tides are sweeping into villages;
relocation may be the only long term option. Maria’s
palpable longing for her family, community and
culture gives the story of her nation’s plight a tender
and pressing resonance. JN•
Screens with Two Laps
Introduction and Q&A with guest filmmakers
THE HUNGRY TIDE
Photo:JulianCrottiPhoto:JohnElliotPhoto:MitchellDeprey